Segment audiences by age and gender

Here are two stats (and one really fun tool) about younger audience online media usage that illustrate why it’s essential to segment your audiences by age and gender, at the very least.

Video: Young men aged 18-24 are most likely to upload video, according to an Online Media Daily story about a Forrester Research report about consumer-generated videos, which are most often used in contests. “To be precise, 13% of users 18 to 24 report uploading online video monthly, compared to just 6% of all other online users.” The report suggests using photo contests if you’re targeting users older than 35.

Mobile: Teens can be targeted with mobile texts and videos, according to eMarketer’s analysis of a Nielsen report about “How Teens Use Media.” Seventy-seven percent have their own mobile phone, and 11 percent regularly borrow one, leaving only 12 percent (about one in ten) who have no mobile phone at all (can you imagine?).These teens spend 6.5 hours per month watching mobile video clips, much more than the average of 3 hours and 37 minutes across all age groups.

In other words, take an audience-based – not a content-based – approach. Don’t plan a news site first based on what you want to do (or can do) and then determine what audiences use it. Decide what audiences you want, research how they use online media, and then plan the site and services that will serve your targeted audiences well.